English
pecunious
Pecunious comes from Latin pecūnia ‘money’, from pecū ‘cattle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-1‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱu2‘cattle’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*peku2‘cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecū3‘cattle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūnia4‘money’
- Englishearliest quotation 1986pecunious4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin pecu
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin pecunia
- 4 Wiktionary, English pecunious
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Stella Lowder, Inside Third World Cities: “Initially these outlets catered for the more pecunious element…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peḱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *péḱu‘livestock’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*péḱuWiktionary, Latin pecu‘cattle’reconstructed*u-stem of *peḱ-
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pekuWiktionary, Latin pecu‘cattle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūWiktionary, Latin pecunia‘cattle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpecūniaWiktionary, English pecunious‘money’
- Englishearliest quotation 1986pecuniousWiktionary, English pecunious. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1986, Stella Lowder, Inside Third World Cities: “Initially these outlets catered for the more pecunious element…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- ‘livestock’
fight, fellow, fax, feudal, peculiar, fawn, fain, 25 more
through Proto-Indo-European *péḱu ‘cattle’
fee, feud, cynical, hound, poodle, feu, cynic, chenille, 13 more
through Latin pecū ‘cattle’
through Latin pecūnia ‘money’
Today it means
adj With money, wealthy; financially independent.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “pecunious”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *péḱu, Latin pecu, Latin pecunia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- / pecunious